Paul Soliai's absence will force D-linemen to 'do a little extra'

Paul Soliai has been a pillar of granite on the Miami Dolphins defensive front for four seasons, serving as the run stuffing specialist on Miami's forceful defensive front.

Soliai hasn't missed a game for the Dolphins since the 2009 season, but it appears he's going to be sitting out Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons because of a left knee sprain he suffered in last week's 24-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

His absence returns defensive tackle Randy Starks to a starting role, where he'll be paired with Jared Odrick. This duo, which usually rotates in and out of the game, will likely inherit 15-20 more snaps a game.

It is also possible the Dolphins will put free agent addition Vaughn Martin into the D-line rotation. Martin started 27 games as a 3-4 defensive end for the Chargers the past two seasons.

“You can’t replace a guy like Paul Soliai," said Starks, who has contributed three tackles, 1.5 sacks and four quarterback hits in two games. "Everyone will have to pull their own weight, and do a little extra to help the team win.”

The Falcons will face Miami without starting tailback Steve Jackson, who suffered a thigh injury last week. Jacquizz Rodgers, a scatback who typically plays on third downs and is viewed as a pass catching specialist, and Jason Snelling will inherit Jackson's workload.

Rodgers, a former Oregon State standout, is averaging 3.6 yards per carry and has scored three rushing touchdowns in his three NFL seasons. However, he's caught 76 passes for 621 yards and two more touchdowns in his 34 games.

The Falcons are averaging 4.1 yards per carry so far this season, but 50 of the team's 124 rushing yards came on one run.

Without that big run the Falcons are averaging 2.5 yards per carry this season.

The Dolphins' top priority each week is to make their opponents one dimensional by choking out the run. It will be interesting to see how the front seven performs without Soliai, who is rated by ProFootballFocus.com as the seventh best defensive tackle in the NFL, one spot behind Starks.

“You’re going to execute your game plan. You have an idea of what they are trying to do to you," said Odrick, who has played 116 snaps so far this season. "We’re talking about playmakers [producing big plays] the first two weeks and you can’t have playmakers if everybody isn’t doing their job. So, no matter how much you want to single out guys, it still comes back to a team effort.”